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Pursuing life lived WELL

Why Chuck Swindoll is Preaching from the New Living Translation

Many years ago when I first started following Jesus I would listen to Chuck Swindoll on Insight for Living almost every weeknight. Since there was no local church I could attend then, Chuck was most influential in my spiritual growth when I was I was a new Christian. I deeply respect Chuck’s teaching and opinions.

Many Pastors that were primarily preaching from the 1984 Edition of the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible started to look for another translation to use when that Bible edition was no longer being published. Many have switched to the English Standard Version, the New King James Version or the Holman Christian Standard Bible. There has been a lot of confusion among people that think the New Living Translation is a “Paraphrase” like Living Bible was and therefore not suitable for preaching. Over the last few years I have heard more and more Pastors are choosing to preach from and distribute New Living Translation Bibles. At our church we have been using it more often because we believe that people’s lives will be transformed if they read, understand and apply it to their lives.

Here’s what Chuck Swindoll’s webpage is saying about his choice to preach from the New Living Translation:

What version of the Bible does Chuck use?

For many years of his ministry, especially since 1971 in Fullerton, California, Chuck exclusively used the New American Standard Version Ryrie Study Bible in his preaching. However, beginning in early 2013, after careful investigation, personal research, and discussions with those involved in the publishing of The New Living Translation, he has switched to that version of the Bible in his public ministry. Approximately 90 biblical scholars went to the original texts during the foundational work of their translation to guarantee the accuracy of their efforts.

These devoted individuals then pursued the best and most helpful ways to express the meaning of the biblical text in our English language, which resulted in a much more readable translation. Because Chuck’s threefold commitment remains the same (accuracy, clarity, and practicality), he desired to use a version of the Bible that did not require a seminary-trained scholar to understand it, and yet he wanted to make certain the version he used remained faithful and true to the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. Chuck has come to realize that The New Living Translationbest serves his purpose in helping others realize how reliable, relevant, timeless and true God’s Word remains to this day.